


Revealed

by Hadithi



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:06:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24131041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hadithi/pseuds/Hadithi
Summary: Connie finds out Lion has been Rose Quartz all along.Inspired by Jailor!
Comments: 19
Kudos: 89





	Revealed

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jailor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jailor/gifts).



Connie still loved exploring, despite the more upsetting parts of her childhood.

The older she got the more confidence she had, and the more eager she was to explore. Thankfully, Lion seemed just as eager to walk through ancient ruins as she was, and she rode him through the remnants of an early stage gem colony with a journal in hand, taking copious notes on everything she found.

She also talked to Lion. Probably way too much. When she told Steven or the gems about her adventures, she liked to leave that part out. She was fairly certain that if she laughed and said, “Oh, yeah, I tell Lion everything. He’s basically my best friend!” that the gems would give her that look that adults always used to give her, the one they gave in response to comments like, “I don’t have a lot of friends, so I like reading survival stories” or “pretending that I’m Lisa is almost as good as having a familiar in real life”.

But Lion didn’t look at her that way. She clung to him and told him everything about her life, and he always felt so interested. His ears would perk forward and his head would cock, and sometimes it felt like he was asking questions - like her human life was riveting. She explained everything to him as thoroughly as she could.

She told him the worst parts of herself. The awful secrets no one could ever know.

But, he was a Lion. That was the nice part. He couldn’t _talk_ . He couldn’t _tell._ They voyaged through thick trees into an old gem chamber, and Connie was happy with that as she buried her face in his mane and took all the comfort from him he could manage.

They stopped before a throne, and the memories hit her so hard the world vanished. _Pink, you little brat! Get off the console!_ And there was a hand around her body, crushing and awful as her legs pinwheeled in the air, as Yellow sneered down at her and she knew, she _knew_ she would never be a real Diamond.

Connie fell away from Lion, panting, gasping for the air that was never taken from her. There was worry in his eyes, ears flat as he backed away, his tail low between his legs. Connie gasped, “ _You_.”

She expected her companion to run, for some illusion to lift, for something to change. Because what she had thought, what she had pieced together, was that there was something of Pink Diamond’s memories in Lion. That there was something of Rose still lingering in him, and her heart had thudded with excitement at the prospect of answers.

Instead, there was a quiet voice she had only heard on video, like a hand through her hair as another mind touched hers. _I’m sorry._

Realization hit harder - not a ghost, not a memory, but _Rose_ here in front of her. _Rose_ in her companion. Her heart twisted as she shook her head, air pushed from her chest. It couldn’t have been true. There couldn’t have been lies on top of lies, there couldn’t be any way. But she could _feel_ it - not just hearing it, but the feel of Rose swept through her mind. Shame and guilt and pain, balanced in equal measure by hope and effort and a dreamy, head in the clouds kind of attitude.

Connie shook her head. “You’re _dead_. You’re not… you couldn’t be…”

Lion laid down. His (her?) head resting on his paws, big soulful eyes looking up at Connie. _I did die, in a way. Without my gem I can’t really be Rose or Pink. And, like this, I don’t think anyone would be interested in me, do you?_ There was a laugh in her voice, but it was mind to mind. There was no deceit capable there - and the shame and guilty that mixed into the sound tugged at Connie’s heart with empathy she wished she didn’t have.

“You have to tell them,” Connie said. She tried to sound like the firm leader she wished she could be, as if she could be someone capable of talking down a thousands (millions?) years old space goddess. “Garnet… I mean, she _exists_ because of you. You were everything to Pearl. You were practically a mom to Amethyst and… and _Steven_ . You’re his _mother_ and you’ve…”

 _Mothers are complicated,_ Rose said, and there was a carefulness to it. There was a gentle prod as she continued, _Mothers and children… only on Earth could something like that exist. A complicated relationship where you’re neglected. Abandoned at times._

Lion chuffed gently. _But you love them anyway. That’s beautiful. The way you love your mother, after all the things you said to me… Who couldn’t have hope that things could get better?_

Connie knew a manipulator when she saw one. A liar. Cleverness born from pain and violence and heartache. She knew the implication in the words, the things that would come out if Rose were to re-enter the world. She had a lot of knowledge in her. She could hear the _It would be a shame if people found out_ … without the words ever being spoken.

But it came from fear. Blue had feared the truth when Steven had confronted her in the chamber. Yellow had shied from the denial Connie screamed her way. White had crumbled at the first evidence of her own imperfection. Hard as they were, Diamonds were brittle. One just needed to hit the right spot.

“I guess that’ll be something Steven and I have in common,” Connie said coolly, pushing herself to her feet and looking down at her companion on the floor.

 _Being abandoned?_ Rose asked, her voice mingled with a painful guilt.

“No,” she said, because she was not a bleeding heart, and her sympathy could not stretch as far as Steven’s. There was anger in her as she glared down. “We’re both going to be talking things out with our moms.”


End file.
